variants
or less commonly roleplay
role-played also roleplayed; role-playing also roleplaying; role-plays also roleplays
1
: to act out the role of
2
: to represent in action
students were asked to role-play the thoughts and feelings of each character—
R. G. Lambert
R. G. Lambert
: to play a role
role-play
noun
or less commonly roleplay
plural role-plays also roleplays
I practice this with student social workers through case studies and role-play.
—Kevin Brazant, quoted in psychologytoday.com
Kevin Brazant, quoted in psychologytoday.com
Examples of role-play in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Bethesda's iconic action role-playing video game franchise never strayed far from the campiness and post-World War II era idealism that has come to define the series through multiple titles.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
The novelty of it all and the potential for role-play is enticing, but there’s still something uncanny and wooden about the experience.
—Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 26 Mar. 2024
The first-person shooter role-playing game, originally created and produced by Gearbox Software and published by 2K in 2009, is a space Western known for its quirky characters and violent humor.
—Ray Padilla, The Courier-Journal, 23 Mar. 2024
The game’s lavish open world is reminiscent of Elden Ring, the fantasy action role-playing game that took the industry by storm in 2022.
—Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Magid suspected that filming the role-play would be challenging—with a multiplicity of narratives and durations of up to 12 hours—and wanted to focus on what that meant to the protagonists, personally.
—Savina Petkova, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024
More than manga Toriyama was also celebrated for his contributions to video games, particularly to classic Japanese role-playing video games like the Dragon Quest series and Chrono Trigger.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune Asia, 8 Mar. 2024
That campaign will take long hours as this tactical role-playing game has players building a rebel army from scratch.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024
The first Dragon Quest release, a role-playing video game, was released in 1986 and since then there have been sequels and spinoff games, manga, anime and novels within the long-running franchise.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
The novelty of it all and the potential for role-play is enticing, but there’s still something uncanny and wooden about the experience.
—Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 26 Mar. 2024
The first-person shooter role-playing game, originally created and produced by Gearbox Software and published by 2K in 2009, is a space Western known for its quirky characters and violent humor.
—Ray Padilla, The Courier-Journal, 23 Mar. 2024
The game’s lavish open world is reminiscent of Elden Ring, the fantasy action role-playing game that took the industry by storm in 2022.
—Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Magid suspected that filming the role-play would be challenging—with a multiplicity of narratives and durations of up to 12 hours—and wanted to focus on what that meant to the protagonists, personally.
—Savina Petkova, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024
More than manga Toriyama was also celebrated for his contributions to video games, particularly to classic Japanese role-playing video games like the Dragon Quest series and Chrono Trigger.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune Asia, 8 Mar. 2024
That campaign will take long hours as this tactical role-playing game has players building a rebel army from scratch.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024
The first Dragon Quest release, a role-playing video game, was released in 1986 and since then there have been sequels and spinoff games, manga, anime and novels within the long-running franchise.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'role-play.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1949, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near role-play
Cite this Entry
“Role-play.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/role-play. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
role-play
verbˈrōl-ˌplā,
-ˈplā
: to act out the role of
role-play an interviewer
Medical Definition
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